The present invention relates to a front vehicle-body structure of a vehicle which comprises a connecting member which connects a suspension tower and a dash panel at a vehicle front portion, for example.
In a vehicle, such as an automotive vehicle, a front suspension damper which expands and contracts in accordance with unevenness of a road surface to suppress a vertical move of a vehicle body, thereby ensuring the ride quality for passengers, is connected to a skeleton member of the vehicle body via the suspension tower, for example.
In general, since relatively-large load energy acts on the suspension tower through the front suspension damper, the suspension tower may have deflection (bending) deformation which is caused by this load energy. There was a concern that this deflection deformation of the suspension tower might deteriorate the handling stability of the vehicle or increase vibrations and noises transmitted into a cabin of the vehicle.
Accordingly, a vehicle-body structure of a vehicle which improves the rigidity of the suspension tower by means of a connecting member which is connected to the suspension tower at its one end is known. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2017-171102, for example, discloses a vehicle-body structure in which a pair of right-and-left reinforcing members (16) which respectively connect a pair of right-and-left suspension towers (7) supporting respective front suspension dampers (shock absorbers) and a dash cross member (11) provided at a front face of a dash panel (6) are provided at a front vehicle body.
According to the above-described vehicle-body structure disclosed in the patent document, the rigidity of the suspension tower (7) can be improved and the load energy acting on the suspension tower can be dispersed and transmitted to the front vehicle body by way of the reinforcing members (16), thereby ensuring the rigidity between the right-and-left suspension towers (7).
However, since the load energy acting on the suspension tower is mainly dispersed and transmitted to the front vehicle body in the above-described vehicle-body structure of the patent document, there is a concern that a difference between load energy acting on the front vehicle body and load energy acting on a rear vehicle body becomes so large that passengers of this vehicle may have a sense of discomfort, such as feeling of a twist of the vehicle body. Thus, there is room for improvement in transmission of the load energy acting on the suspension tower in the above-described vehicle-body structure of the patent document.